Wilbur Addison Smith was born in Broken Hill in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He was educated at Cordwalles Preparatory School, Michaelhouse in Natal and Rhodes University, in Grahamstown after which he became a jornalist and then an accountant. With the success of his first novel When the Lion Feeds in 1964 he became a full-time author. His first marriage ended in divorce at 24. His second wife, Danielle Thomas whom he married in 1971 died in 1999. He married Mokhiniso Rakhimova, from Tadjikistan, in May 2000. He lives in London and retains an abiding love of Africa and her wildlife.